Cabbage Rice

Given how much Desi and I love our veggies, I never miss an opportunity to use them in almost everything I cook. I fold them into parathas, add them to curries, stir them into pilafs, and they never– ever– let my tastebuds down, adding a nutritious and delicious wallop to just about everything.

The Cabbage Rice I have for you today is a wonderful recipe to spice up plain old rice on a weekday with minimum effort. All the labor needed here is to shred the cabbage, and even that can be done in a jiffy if you happen to have a handy food processor around. The only spices used are ones you likely already have on your spice rack– garam masala, turmeric, and chilli powder.

Most of the cabbage rice recipes I’ve come across usually cook the rice and cabbage separately and then mix them up, but honestly, who wants to be bothered with all the extra time that takes, not to mention the extra pots and pans? My cabbage rice is a one-pot meal and what’s better, the rice and cabbage cook together in the same time to melting, delicious tenderness. All you need is a little tofu yogurt, a crispy, crackling papad, and some mango pickle, and you’re set for bliss.

Ah, now I know what to do with that lonely cabbage in the fridge. I agree whole heartedly with you that adding veggies to most of the things, improves the taste dramatically. One advantage of vegan food is the explosion of taste of pure veggies in the mouth, not masked by any dairy or anything.

AMA, the spices give that great yellow color. I love adding turmeric to just about anything because it makes everything look great but more important, it’s great for you.

Usha, Priya: Thanks!

Joyful, I agree that cabbage can be hard to like– and it is not one of my top favorites among veggies either. But the wonderful thing about it is it cooks up so tender that it merges with almost anything without being too assertive- parathas, curries, pakoras…

Tibik, so glad you liked it. The pumpkin seeds sound like a wonderful idea

Vaishali, Kanchan, Thanks!

Samarpita, you’re exactly right. I love tasting the flavor of the veggies without the dairy to mask it.

Sush, thanks. I try to keep recipes really simple for weeknights because I usually have no more than half an hour to 45 minutes to get things done. Those quick dishes — literally invented on my feet– often turn into my favorites.

Update: I tried it tonight. Came out really well. A keeper. I stir-fried some peanuts and added when serving to give it a bit of crunch. We had ours with some freshly made guacamole and pickle. Thanks for the great recipe.

I tried this at home last week, combining it with cucumber raita and chickpeas curry (my husband won’t do without a curry!)….it was absolutely marvelous, no one even guessed that there was cabbage in the rice! thanks so much for the lovely recipe.